I have concerns with the current state of the Urban Government Center Community Benefits Agreement. The most recent pattern book submitted by the developer is extremely concerning, however so is the focus of the community benefits agreement. The majority of the asks revolve around Paristown Hall events, and demands the developer take over city maintenance and safety services.
BackgroundLouisville picks a developer (again) to renovate long-closed Urban Government Center
Include a mobility hub
The traffic, parking and mobility portion is deeply flawed and only concerned with Old Forester’s Paristown Hall. A space, while also developed by the Paristown group and Steve Smith, is a completely separate project. The Community Committee is disproportionately fixated on traffic and parking relating to Paristown Hall events. This is reactive, extremely shortsighted and does nothing to address long term mobility challenges affecting the community. Currently there’s no safe option to attend Paristown events without driving or taking Uber/Lyft, which is still a vehicle that ends up idling in residential areas. A Uber/Lyft drop off and shuttle service won’t solve neighborhood parking grievances.
The primary objective in the traffic, parking and mobility portion of the community benefits agreement should be the inclusion of a mobility hub or neighborhood station. A proper Mobility Hub / Neighborhood Station would include an attractive covered pavilion for TARC, Uber/Lyft drop-off, bike lockers, bike and scooter parking and Louvelo station placed in a central location on Barret and Breckinridge.
A true mobility hub would be a long lasting benefit to the community. It would reduce the amount of car traffic, decrease demand for parking, allow residents and those from other neighborhoods to rely on alternative (non-car) transportation. Not just during Paristown Hall events but everyday. If people are accustomed to utilizing other modes of transportation daily they will be much more likely to do the same during events.
Please seriously consider including the creation of a mobility hub as a major focus of the community benefits agreement. It is the only long-term and substantial way to reduce the amount of cars and traffic in the neighborhood. More residents and more people traveling to events doesn’t have to mean more traffic and parking headaches if the developer and Metro provides access to well designed, functional alternative transportation options.
Why more office space?
Circling back to the pattern book recently made public by the developers. Have they explained why 180,000 gross square footage of office space is included? Especially when downtown Louisville’s office market is seeing the highest vacancy rate in the last 35 years. In addition, why isn’t the first floor facing Barret Avenue utilized as retail space? Barret Ave. has become one of the most important independent business quarters in the city. Extend this vibrant independence business corridor; not to do so would be a waste of value space in the community.
More Opinion:How can Louisville support Paristown Pointe plans while cutting emergency services?
Major issues with the pattern book
The pattern book it is uninspired, bland and lifeless. To keep it brief- here are only a few of the major issues.
- I have no faith the developer will reuse much historic material. Reading between the lines, it’s clear they don’t want the excess time and expense.
- “The open outdoor civic space shall not be less the 20% of the gross project acreage.” It’s extremely problematic space intended to be for private apartment dwellers use counts towards the 20% open outdoor civic space.
- It establishes internal private streets. It is very unclear if these private streets or access easements will remain open to the public. It could easily lead to a situation exhibited in the Elevate at NuLu Apartment (802A E Madison St.). S Shelby is cut off and the beautiful treelined path is not open to the public.
- The developer states, the “Restoration of tree canopy and integration of native species into the site and along streetscapes is a priority’,” (page 17). However, on page 31, “Street trees will not be utilized along Vine Street, Breckinridge Street and Barrett Avenue due to the presence of overhead utilities that restrict the growth of street trees.” This is blatantly false, Louisville’s Department of Urban Forestry approves tree planting under overhead utilities as long as they adheres to specific guidelines and permitted tree type.
- Design Guidelines – Architecture Standards do not reflect the neighborhood character. It’s clear they had a certain style in mind from the beginning, one very popular with developers as it’s trendy and cheap. No hint of Victorian architecture in historically designated neighborhood.
If the panel withdraws from negotiations what is the likelihood Metro waives the Community Benefit Agreement requirement per Section 3.02 (B.6) page 11? I fear the unreasonable, and self-serving, asks will allow the developer to argue for a waiver to the Community Benefit Agreement requirement. Please, excuse my cynicism. Our city’s history of prioritizing business interests over that of citizens isn’t promising. Can the Metro government follow through on their requirement for a Community Benefit Agreement? We will soon find out.
Sarah Fisher is a Louisville native. She has Master in Russian and Eurasian Studies from one of the leading academic institutions in humanities and social sciences in Russia. Sarah currently works with various nonprofits focused on transforming Louisville into an equitable, active and sustainable urban community.
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